Cat Eye Glasses Necklace

The moment I saw these I knew I had to make necklaces out of them.  They are way fun and whimsical, and perfect for summer!!  They're listed in my etsy shop if you're interested :)

Old Navy Groupon

There is an Old Navy Groupon today!  Buy a Groupon for $10 and you get $20 to spend in the store.  Definitely worth it :)

*This deal was on the far right of my groupon.com page listed under "other deals."

Are These Guys For Real??

I don't know if you'll see this as disgusting or just purely entertaining, but it's a must see!!  Here's a little preview:

click here

I do love me a cute mustache (necklace that is), but these guys might be taking it a little too far....??

Why I've Been MIBW

A lot of people have been asking me why they haven't seen a post in a long time, and I'm here to explain.

Throughout my adult life I have been plagued by physical hardships.  I was told at age 22 that I have a spine of an 80 year old.  This was when it started.  From that point on (11 years ago) I've been battling physical ailments.  I've been diagnosed and dealt with everything from scoliosis to kidney stones.  I've had surgeries (some while prego) and it has not been fun.  Well, about a month ago, my hands started shaking and the doctors don't know why. 

This has been more of an emotional trial than physical, if I'm being honest.  One more thing added to the ever-growing physical ailments has really been a blow.  So, that is why I've been MIBW (missing in the blog world).  Here are some things that have been soothing my troubles....

I've had a lot of support from this:

(literally the best chocolate I've had in a long time!!)

and this:

(caffeine free because regular doesn't help with the shakes :)

I hope to be back to my normal self soon and be able to stop dwelling on my hardships and have some positivity come into my life again.

I Have A Mustache

I think it's hilarious when people comment to me that they like my mustache and the people around us give her/him dirty looks.  I've had several people ask me on the side if they heard correctly.  Yes, you heard it correctly.  I have a mustache, and I love it!

Except, this mustache never has to be waxed, bleached, or shaved.  It stays with me whenever I want to put it on and for however long I want to have it on.  I don't even have to take it off if I don't want to.

Take a look at this mustache:

Isn't it cute?

How about another angle?

I'm putting them up for sale in my etsy shop:  hautedebdesigns.etsty.com

 {Hurry before they're all sold at the craft fair I'm going to be a vendor at!}

Stop by if you want your very own compliment-inducing mustache! ;)

How to Get Big {Sex-ified} Hair!

I've always liked big hair.

I haven't always been able to achieve said big hair.

You see, my hair is VERY thick, and there is a TON of it.

I warn every hair dresser of the aforementioned, and they never seem to believe me.

That is until they get me in their chair and actually feel the goods.

Then they are shocked and awed by the amount of hair I have.

Told you so!!

So here is the magic tool that I discovered.

If you want the big, nice, lovely, flowing, thick, bombshell, movie star hair here's the secret:

A Teasing Brush

It is seriously heaven-sent.

These have never worked for me and I never knew why:

It's because they don't work.

They may work at first, but they don't HOLD the hair like a teasing brush does.

If you have thick, thin, whatever type of hair it doesn't matter.  The brush will work for you.

I love it when people think I'm a hairstylist!

Now they know my secret ;)

I'm nowhere close to a hairstylist, I just found their secret.  {hee hee}

Here's how to do it:

Get your flat, dead hair ready.

Pick up a one inch or so section of hair and tease like you would if it was a comb.

{Please ignore the horribly streaked mirrors that my 10 year old cleans when he's in trouble! Couldn't tell til I was editing the photos ;)}

Then start teasing the heck out of your hair.  

Go all over the top of your head and then underneath.

{At least that's how I roll.}

Then it'll look like this.

Fab-u-lous! 

{Said in a sing-songy voice of course.}

Here's a side view.

Cute, huh?!

I was trying to get a better view for you, but I just couldn't get another angle since my arms aren't like Mrs. Incredible's.

Maybe I can use this photo for a sexy-come-hither look.

{Yeah, I didn't think so either!}

So that's it in a nutshell.  I wish I could actually show you how to do it, but I don't have 8 arms to hold a camera while I'm holding up a section of hair while I'm holding onto a teasing brush.

I hope this has helped some of you, and I can't wait to see all of you with bombshell, movie star hair!!

Now go on and get yourself a teasing brush!

National Geographic Magazine Deal

Here's a really good deal I found:

Amazon has the National Geographic magazine for just $10! It's regularly $15 for a 1 year subscription, but if you order it by April 30th an extra $5.00 will automatically be deducted at checkout. The offer is limited, so act fast!

 {Geez, that just sounded like a really cheesy info-commercial!}

I'm Not Asking For Much...Am I?

You know the only thing that could make a 44 oz. Diet Coke from Sonic even better?

I bet you can't guess it!

It's this:

If you guessed an aluminum straw...  you're right!!

The only place I can find these for free is 7-11.  No, I'm not cheating on Sonic, but when will they get the clue?

 Diet Coke + aluminum straw = happy customer

Now is the big question:

7-11, when will you bring these back??!!

{THE Talk}

-Yes, this title refers to "the talk" that we all, as parents, dread

-At least I as a parent dread

-Don't you all?

-Here's the reason why we're having "the talk" with our eldest this weekend

-My friend and neighbor very kindly informed me that my eldest was "schooling" her children in the matters of sex ed.

-What the bleep??!!

-I had NO clue that he knew about this stuff

-Actually, I shouldn't say that; it makes me seem very naive

-I knew he knew some things, but I didn't know he was so well versed in the terminology

-Or should I say...slang

-The hubs and I knew that this was going to come sooner or later, we were just hoping for the later

-I'm totally worried about it

-I think I'm more worried about how I'm going to feel during "the talk"

-I know, I know, stupid right?

-You're probably thinking that he is going to be way more embarrassed than I will be

-I don't think so!

-Now he's going to "know" what hubs and I do behind closed {securely locked} doors!

-Embarasking!

-Has anyone had "the talk" with their children before and can give me some pointers?

-Like how not to turn beet-red and act like I'M 10 years old?

-This is not going to be fun

-I'm already having an anxiety attack....

-HELP!!

Link up with the one and only Glamazon

Noah's Ark {Quilt}

I cannot explain to you in words how unbelievably talented my mother is.  She seriously can do anything crafty.  And I mean anything.  Since I can remember she's been sewing, quilting, toll painting, carving wood, crocheting, knitting, etc.  There is seriously nothing she can't do.  Everything she even attempts to try turns out beyond perfect.  I have been able to reap these crafty benefits my whole life {she literally made ALL of my clothes until I got to junior high and found out if wasn't "cool" anymore to have homemade clothes!}, and now my children get to as well.

Here's a picture of the latest wonder she has come up with:

A Noah's Ark quilt!
Every square has an embroidered animal/s to go with every letter of the alphabet.
{Trust me, these pictures don't do it justice!}

Aren't they cute?!

Adorable!

And this is rare nowadays:  HAND STITCHED!!
Yes, the whole quilt is hand stitched.
I told you she was AHmazing!

She embroidered all of these animals on a nifty new machine she purchased, then sewed and quilted it all together.  Can you say awesome!

I just had to share this one project out of a zillion-katrillion she has made over the years.

I hope you have enjoyed her awesomeness as much as we have :)

Cafe Rio {My Style}

Living in a city where there is not a Cafe Rio is very disheartening when you are literally hooked on their chicken salad.

So what do you do at times when you're craving that little bit of yumminess?

You fake it!

Here are some tweaked recipes for their:

shredded chicken

ranch-y dressing

cilantro rice

Enjoy :)

Cafe Rio Shredded Chicken

6 large chicken breasts

1 8 oz. bottle Zesty Italian dressing

3-4 heaping teaspoons of chopped garlic (I use the already prepared stuff)

1 T. cumin

1 T. dark chili powder

Put in a slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours.  Shred, then cook for another hour.

Ranch Dressing

1 ranch dressing packet

1 c. mayo

1/2 c. milk

2 T. lime juice

2 t. chopped garlic

1/2 bunch cilantro

2 T. green salsa

1/8 t. tabasco sauce

Put all ingredients in a blender and whip it up.

Cilantro Rice

2 c. rice (not instant)

4 c. water

4 cubes chicken bouillion

1/2 bunch cilantro

1 can diced green chilies

3/4-1 t. salt

1 T. butter

1/2 onion

Put onion, cilantro and chilies in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  Bring water to a boil, then add the rest of the ingredients.  Simmer for about 30 mins.  Turns out perfect every time!

"I Really Do"

If any of you have watched this season of "The Bachelor" you know exactly what this blog title means.  That's right, Brad Womack.  I don't know if any of you noticed, but after almost every sentence this man utters are these 3 magical words: I really do.  

A group of us have been congregating together for this season's Bachelor, and we've had a whale of a time.  I don't know that we necessarily "watch" the whole thing because we're usually yelling talking at the TV for the whole episode.  One of my friends mentioned that she has to go back home and watch the episode again because we miss so much! {Sorry Chelsie!!}

I thought I should give a shout-out to all of my lovely friends who I've had so much fun with these past few Mondays.

 Not everyone is pictured because they were out of town for Spring Break.  What's up with that?!

Thanks Steph for hosting, and thanks Taylor for putting up with us week after week until all hours of the night.  {Don't worry, Taylor..."circle of trust."}

These girls have truly made watching "The Bachelor" a whole new exciting experience.  I can't wait until "The Bachelorette"!!

Extra Frosting Anyone?

If you're like me, whenever you frost a cake or cupcakes you have some extra frosting left over.

Instead of taking a spoon and eating that extra goodness right up {like I would love to do}, I have a fast, easy way to use it up without feeling like a total porker {but spooning that luscious goodness in your mouth is oh sooo good!!}.

When I was little my mom would always sandwich the extra frosting between some graham crackers.  It was SO yummy and one of my brother's and my favorite after school snacks.

They get even better once they've sat around for a little while, and even better if they've been in the refrigerator!  The graham crackers get a little soft from the frosting and they taste so good! {I like my cookies soft and chewy, which is what happens to these when left to their own devices...YUM!}.

You should know that my husband thinks I'm totally insane and that this is the grossest thing ever.  Love you too, babe :)

But, baby, don't knock it til you try it!!

So, you try it and let me know how it turns out for you.

It will change your life foreva!!

Daily Deals

I don't know if you're all aware of the daily deals that Target has online, but if you aren't you need to check it out...daily!  The deals change everyday, and sometimes they're good and sometimes they're bad.  I would like to think that today's daily deal is a really good one!

Today's deal is on women's shirts for only $9.99.

Plus, their daily deals get free shipping, so to me it's totally worth it!

Here's some of the cutey-patutey shirts I just ordered:

 

 

Yeah, I just noticed that every shirt I bought is either navy or has some navy in it.

What does that say about me?!

Happy shopping :)

These Are My Confessions

Don't you just love that song?!

If you're in the mood to have a few really good laughs, stop by here.

*I love to travel

*I got to do it last week, and it was spectacular

*I didn't want to come back home

*Cuz that means you have to deal with your kids, and do the dishes, and clean the house, etc., etc., etc.

*It sucks coming back to normal life

*C'est la vie

*Back to the good stuff

*Our nation's capital is awesome

*D.C. was a ton of fun, and I would love to go back again

*We were there 5 1/2 days and there was still so much we didn't get to see

*All of the monuments and memorials were awesome and inspiring

*Especially since I was a US History major {would've never thought that, huh?!}

*I got to go to Georgetown Cupcakes {DC Cupcakes on TLC} twice!

*Their cupcakes were SO good and totally worth the metro and bus trips to get there

*The best was Ben's Chili Bowl

*I almost died and went to heaven eating their chili cheese fries

*My mouth is salivating right now thinking about it

*I was quite upset at the rudeness of some of the people in this historic town

*Let's just say some of the locals do NOT like to be asked for directions from nice-looking tourists

*Nor do they like these said tourists to use certain places of businesses bathrooms when the very nice, kind tourist is doing the pee-pee dance right in front of them {(stupid fat man! sorry, still not over it ;)}

*Our traveling company was awesome

*Thank you Camel and Short Stuff, you're the best!

*The bus schedules in DC are not that great for tourists who get hotels FAR from the center of DC to save a couple of bucks

*Now walking a couple of miles to a hotel from a metro/bus stop is considered nothing to these seasoned feet

*I have never walked so much in my life!

*It was worth it because I got to have Chipotle 4 days in a row, which is manna from heaven since they don't have one where I live {(sorry hon! he hates Chipotle!!)} 

*I learned a few things while we were there: my dancing moves are nothing compared to Short Stuff's, I make great entertainment for Camel, Gimpy can handle a lot more than some people give her credit for, and that Gavel is a very, very patient soul

*Thanks for the memories

{Ha! Another great song!!}

I Love Laundry!

Can anyone sense the sarcasm in that title?!  Hmmm... I can!!

Has anybody ever come home from a seven day vacation only to find that your washing machine is broken?

I have!

Has anyone ever not been able to fix said washing machine for another five days??!!

Yep, that would be me.

It's seriously just my luck, though.  If it would happen to anyone it would be me.

So, for the last two days I have done countless loads of laundry.

Washed.

Dried.

Folded.

Hung.

Am I finished yet?

Hells to the no.

Of course not!

This is what I have left to do:

 No big deal, right?!

So in between all of the other countless things I have to do, I still have about EIGHT more loads of craptastic, funnerific, most favoritist-thing-for-me-to-waste-my-day-with laundry to finish.

Someone help me....

All Dressed Up

Nothing special going on here.  It's just been kind of cold in old ABQ.  The wind on Sunday was unreal.  I stepped out our church doors and was flabbergasted by the amount of wind there was.  I literally couldn't see anything except dust.  I sure hope it's not this windy every day!

Link up with this mighty fine lady for some good times :)

 See? Warm and cozy!

jeans: AEOutfitters, shirt, hat and cardi: Target, shoes: TJ Maxx

And here's a close-up of those freaking cute chucks.

L-O-V-E-S IT!!

{Yummy} Green Chile Burritos

I found this recipe on another blog and thought it sounded really good.  I tried it on Sunday because it's so nice to throw stuff in the good old slow cooker and come home from church to a meal that is all ready for our mass consumption. My husband is pretty leery of crock-pot recipes, but he actually liked this one, so I thought if he liked the burritos, the recipe was worth sharing.  

Here is the adapted recipe:

 photo found here

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 can of diced green chilies

1 can of green enchilada sauce

6-8 chicken breasts

tortillas

Monterey Jack cheese

optional: avocado, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes

Stir first 5 ingredients together, then pour on top of chicken.  Cook for 4 hours on high, then shred and cook for one more hour.

*I always use frozen chicken, so cooking times may change.

*the tortillas that come fresh are the bestest, so I always recommend those

**Fill your tortilla with the shredded meat and some yummy cheese.  Top with some of the delicious green sauce and some more cheese.  I nuke it in the microwave to melt the cheese, then add avocado and sour cream.  

-------------Y-U-M-M-Y-------------

{EASY} St. Patrick's Day Craft

I've been wanting to decorate my house for St. Patrick's Day, but have been gone on vacation {more on that later}.  I found something like this on another blog, and thought it would be fast, cheap and easy.  For once, I was right!

I used my handy-dandy Silhouette and cut those cute little clovers out.  Fold up the sides and add some glitter {cuz that's how I roll} and wallah!

(once again, I'm a bad picture-taker with an even badder (yes, I know that's not a word) camera}

All Dressed Up

This is a special Valentine's Day edition of All Dressed Up.

Take a looksy~

I couldn't decide if I wanted "cute flats" or "hot heels."

I can't believe the small stripe/big stripe thing worked. I kind of like it!

shirt: Ross, cardi: F21, jeans: AEO, heels: Marshalls, flats: Target, necklace: BR, headband: Target, slut-red lipstick: ??

Now on to way cuter people...

 Talk about handsome!

{I made that tie!!}

Believe it or not, I did not tell him to pose like that!

I told him I wanted to take a picture of him cute V-Day outfit, and this is what he did.

Love it!!!

{I made that bowtie, too!! They are WAY easy to do.}

I hope you all have enjoyed the Valentine edition of All Dressed Up.

Now go give your honey some lovin'!

The {Best} Tortilla Dessert

I found this recipe in a magazine a couple of years ago.  I just memorized it so I can't remember exactly where I got it, so sorry for no credit. 

(Maybe someone knows where it came from and can give them credit?)

I know this probably isn't the best picture for showing how yummy this dessert is, but it IS yummy!

You just have to try it and see :)

1st- I think the best tortillas are the ones where you have to cook them before you can eat them, so that's what you do.  Take two tortillas and cook them up :)

Make sure not to cook them too far on one side because it's going to get cooked more.

Next, 

 brush one side of the tortilla with butter and sprinkle same side with cinnamon sugar.

Put the butter and sugar side down on the pan and start to add your yumminess:

chocolate chips, marshmallows, and bananas.

Then put the other side on top so it can melt together.

(Remember to put the butter and sugar side on top so you can flip it and get a nice sugary crust on the other side, too!)

So it'll look like this!!

Take it off your pan and slice however you like.

  It might look a little grody right now, but it's not, I promise!

Enjoy :)

Here's a picture of the plate I had the dessert on before I took its glamour shot (circa 1987):

Holy Magenta!

I've so enjoyed linking up with this great lady on Wednesdays! It's really got my creative juices flowing for changing up my outfits.  So, thank you No Model Lady, for the boost in my bland wardrobe!

{Link up and play along :)}

 I was uber-excited when I found these tights at JCPenney for a whopping 2.97.  

I was super-duper excited when I found some matching magenta fabric to make me a matching flower necklace. {Do I hear a what-what?!}

 

 The only problem? What shoes to wear with it?!

Yellow are oh so cute, but I'm still not used to the tights with open-toed shoes yet.

Then again, there's my grey heels.  Oh the choices!

What do you think???

skirt: Old Navy, shirt: Banana Republic, cami: ModBe, cardi: Banana Republic, necklace: me

yellow wedges: Dillards, black boots: Nine West, grey heels: Marshalls